The number of people experiencing the enjoyment of touring on bicycles, mopeds or motorcycles has been steadily increasing over the years. Cycles have replaced the use of automobiles for travelling to work, school, the grocery store and other places where it is necessary for the rider to carry various objects on the cycle to and from his destination. Panniers, as they are referred to in the trade, may take various forms such as saddlebags, packs, baskets and the like.
Saddlebags are particularly useful for motorcycle touring over an extended period of time. Some Saddlebags take the form of rigid containers affixed to the rear sides of the motorcycle. These constructions, unfortunately, unduly increase the weight of the cycle and are not readily removable. Many known arrangements also require semi-permanent attachment of large amounts of hardware to the cycle.
To overcome this problem it would be highly advantageous to employ a lightweight saddlebag arrangement that can be used both on and off the cycle as pieces of luggage without the need for distracting hardware. Unfortunately, this noteworthy objective is not easily achieved. Such an arrangement not only requires that the saddlebags be removably attached to the cycle, but they also must be mounted in such a manner that they do not impede safe operation of the motorcycle or comfort of the passenger. Flexible, lightweight saddlebags have their advantages because it is easy to manually carry them after removal from the cycle. However, they are ordinarily not designed to withstand the road abuse and their flexible sides may interfere with the spokes of the rear wheel when hanging from the side of the seat. It is also difficult to load/unload flexible bags because of their tendency to sag. Additionally, the load distribution of the objects in the bag may become uneven, resulting in an unpredictable sway of the bag caused by shifts in the load.
Finally, it is of utmost importance that the saddlebags be securely fastened to the cycle and remain in a stable position when encountering the high wind forces typically experienced at highway speeds. The saddlebag mounting arrangement not only must accomplish this objective but it also would be highly desirable to employ a mounting arrangement that could be used on a variety of different cycle constructions without requiring substantial modifications of the cycle to effectuate the saddlebag mounting arrangement.
The present invention is directed to solving one or more of these problems.